The Latest: Judge rejects plea deals in deadly Oakland fire

FILE- This combination of file June 2017 booking photos released by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office shows Max Harris, left, and Derick Almena, at Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County, Calif. The two men, who accepted a deal in exchange for each pleading no contest to 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in a California warehouse fire, will likely be released from prison after serving just half their sentences. A judge on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018, is expected to sentence Almena to nine years in prison and Harris to six years, even though relatives of victims of the 2016 blaze in Oakland slammed the proposed sentences as too lenient. (Alameda County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)AP

The plea deal called for sentencing Almena to nine years in prison and 28-year-old Max Harris to six years. Relatives of victims of the deadly blaze had slammed the proposed sentences as too lenient.

Almena’s attorney, Tony Serra, told reporters after the hearing that he will take the case to trial.

Prosecutors have charged the two men turned the warehouse into a residential death trap by cluttering it with highly flammable knick-knacks and blocking the few exits.

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12:01 a.m.

Two men who accepted a deal in exchange for each pleading no contest to 36 charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with a California warehouse fire will likely be released from prison after serving just half their sentences.

It’s typical for California prison inmates who keep a good disciplinary record to be released after serving half their terms.

Judge James Cramer on Friday is expected to sentence 48-year-old Derick Almena to nine years in prison and 28-year-old Max Harris to six years, even though relatives of victims of the 2016 blaze in Oakland have slammed the proposed sentences as too lenient.

A prosecutor said the two men had turned the warehouse into a residential “death trap” by cluttering it with highly flammable knick-knacks and blocking the few exits.